


Valiant

by Virus138



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Air Force, Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - World War II, Based on Valiant, Blow Jobs, Comedy, Frank is German for some reason, Frank is the bad guy, French Resistance, Friendship, Humour, Kidnapping, Kissing, Light Bondage, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Military, Military Training, Neck Kissing, Romance, Valiant AU, World War II, make out, planes, rule britannia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-03 07:31:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6602188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Virus138/pseuds/Virus138
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For his whole life Nico wanted nothing more than to join the Air Force and fight for his country. When he finally gets the chance, he accidentally manages to drag the most anti-patriotic person into the army as well. With vigorous training, cramped spaces and hilarious mistakes, the new squadron prepares for their job. </p><p>Nico and his friends now receive the biggest, most important mission of the whole war. They must concentrate on the assignment but the fact that an attractive nurse is prancing around the military camp is not helping. And then Leo has to go and catch the eye of the enemy. Things just couldn't be better, could they?  </p><p>Freo, Jercy & Solangelo. Smut scenes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. White Cliffs of Dover

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya!  
> So this is my new fanfic based one of my favourite movies ever.  
> The movie is an animated one, and it is called ''Valiant''.  
> ...yeah, it's the one about pigeons.  
> It's hilarious, although I've only seen it in Polish. The puns are mad. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend you do!

‘’Commander! Behind us!’’

Grover swore. It was dark, and his squadron was losing hope. In the darkness an attack was possible, even expected. He could feel the fear of his comrades as if it could radiate through their planes into his. But they had a mission and they could not fail.

‘’Almost there!’’ Grove spoke to his head piece, his eyes on the white outline on the horizon. ‘’I can see the white cliffs of Dover! Just hold on!’’

‘’Commander!’’ Grover glanced to his side, expecting to see Luke in his Super marine Seafire. Instead all he saw was the dark sea stretching to his left, ‘’Castellan, come in! Where are you!?’’ he demanded into his head piece. Feeling fear slowly creep into his mind, Grover turned to his right, where Calypso was still flying bravely alongside him. Grover was about to shout words of encouragement into the mic, when the steel claw appeared. He had heard various stories about the enemy’s new vehicle – a plane, too large for speed but fast enough to swoop down and grab your plane out of the air. Grover froze, watching the massive steel claw close around the plane. Calypso tried to veer away and then, with a snap, the claws smashed the plane, crushing the pilot, and dropped the metal carcass into the ocean. Now the Seafire looked like a smashed can. It floated weakly on the surface of the dark waters for a few seconds before sinking below the waves.

Now the claw was coming towards him. Grover grabbed the controls and swooped away, going full speed for the cliffs. He could see them clearly now. He was so close. Just a few more seconds… his vision was suddenly covered with metal. The plane lurched forward and then died as the claw closed around it. Grover released the control. He wasn’t religious but suddenly he felt the need to pray. Before he could, however, his Seafire was lurched upwards into a latch. Inside it was as dark as it was outside, and his plane was docked. The claw did not let him go and the plane would not start again. It was so dark. Grover slumped in his pilot chair.

This was the end.

{***}

‘’Wing commander Jackson!’’

Percy turned around towards the doors, putting the rapports he was reading on the map he had been studying a few minutes before. A young, scared-looking soldier stood in his doors. It was one of the newbies.

‘’What is it?’’

The soldier saluted respectfully, ‘’word came from Dover. The Demi-God Air Force Squadron 56 Seafire has been eliminated, sir.’’

Percy tried not to show his shock or horror. One of his best friends, Grover, was in that squadron. ‘’all of them? These were our best flyers.’’

The soldier looked uncomfortable, ‘’I’m afraid it was all of them, sir.’’

Percy swallowed and nodded, ‘’dismissed.’’

The soldier saluted and left, closing the doors. Percy sighed, turning to his map. In a tired, practiced fashion he swept six eagle figurines representing squadron 56 Seafire off the map, letting them fall to the floor.

{***}

_‘’Once again, we thank our soldiers for their effort! Just last week, DAF wing commander Perseus Jackson was awarded another medal. No surprise there – great awards for a great man! Let’s not forget the nurses, who not only save the lives of our brave soldiers but also work on the codes we have been having more luck deciphering! We’re doing well, Britain! Keep fighting and stay tuned for more news!’’_

Nico gazed at the small, black and white TV in the corner of the pub that he had been watching all his life with big eyes. Pictures of manly soldiers and smart-looking nurses flickered across the screen – and then a short clip of the DAF in action. Nico sighed in longing. One day that was going to be him. He continued to stare at the TV in hopes of seeing more, while the loud men returned to drink or play pool. The waitress slammed into him.

‘’Nico, outta the way!’’ she snapped at him. Nico obediently moved away, walking towards the doors – if they weren’t gonna play anything about DAF there was no point hanging about. One of the pool balls jumped off the table and rolled towards him. He bent to pick it up and someone slammed into him. He fell on his butt.

‘’Sorry Nico! Didn’t see you there!’’

Angry and embarrassed, Nico got up and slammed the ball down on the table.

‘’Thanks, shortie.’’

Nico glared at the author of the comment and started to walk towards the exit, followed by chuckles. Suddenly a breathless girl ran into the pub. It was Jenny from down the road, and she was red in the face with excitement.

‘’It’s the Hawker Squadron and Wing Commander Jackson! He’s _here_!’’

In a second, Nico was swept along with a wave of people who rushed towards the doors. Nico pushed his way past them and got outside just when he thought he was going to suffocate. And then his heart stopped. There they were – the DAF planes – in the air. They somersaulted and the people cheered, before they landed in the large field in front of the pub. Nico watched the planes in awe. They were even more awesome and breathtaking than he saw on TV or on pictures. And he was going to fly one someday! His attention was ripped from the planes when Percy Jackson stepped out of his legendary Hawker Demon.  For a second he stood outside the red and blue patterned plane, before he walked towards the crowd. Behind him were his two best fighters – Rachel Dare, who piloted a Hawker Fury and Clarisse La Rue, who had a Hawker Nimrod.

It was Percy who Nico watched though. No one had as many medals as him. He was the best pilot in all of Great Britain – a literal living legend. As soon as he made it to the crowd he was smothered with handshakes and pats on the back. His two comrades watched on with the casualness of someone who’d seen the same scene many times before. The crowd led the Hawker squadron into the pub and Nico decided this was way more exciting than going back home to help his mom with the laundry.

‘’On the house!’’ Chiron, the pub owner, proclaimed imiediatly when the Hawker squadron sat down.

Percy grinned at him, straightening his sunglasses on his nose. Both Dare and La Rue wore the sunglasses and together they looked unbelievably cool. Nico watched from a distance as the crowd fanned out around them, giving them space and at the same time keeping close. Nico was short – it was what made him a laughing stock in his village – so when the people packed themselves tightly in a semi circle, all Nico could see were shoulders and the occasional glimpse of Percy’s grin.

‘’Tell us, what news from the front?’’ Chiron’s voice floated from above the heads.

Percy sighed, ‘’unfortunately the information is classified. It’s not easy. War is our daily bread, but it is not nice.’’ He laughed and the crowd joined him. Nico heard them gulp down their drinks and then Percy got up, the rest of his squad following, ‘’other than to catch a breather, we have come to recruit. I’m sure a small village like this one harbours many brave recruits.’’

The men shuffled uncomfortably. The villagers were everything from stubborn to loud to stupid, but they were not brave. Percy’s proclamation was followed by an awkward silence and Nico took his chance.

‘’Sir, I’d like to join!’’ he said, pushing past the nearest man. The crowd erupted into laugher.

‘’You!? You’re too short!’’ Someone roared with laughter.

‘’Go home, kid!’’

‘’You’d get blasted off your ass in five seconds!’’

Nico felt a blush creep up his neck, the humiliation washing over him, but he squared his shoulders and stared at Percy. Percy sent the crowd a bemused look, raising an eyebrow at their behaviour until they filed into another awkward silence. Then he turned to Nico and smiled.

‘’Nowadays, a brave youth is rare to find,’’ he said, ‘’report to the commission in London,’’ then he turned to Chiron and nodded, ‘’thanks for the hospitality, but we must be on our way.’’ He tossed a bunch of black and white leaflets advertising the DAF into the air.

The crowd cheered as the Hawker squad ran to their planes and shot from the ground. The crowds cheers were loud even after they disappeared behind the thin layer of clouds.

888

‘ _’Herr General_!’’

Grover was dimly aware that he was being dragged on the floor. As soon as the fact hit him, he came to fully. The last thing he remembered was being captured by the claw, and now he was in a dark building that seemed terrifyingly like a fortress. Grover blinked and looked at the two people dragging him. It was two girls, and each had an arm hooked under his armpits. His feet were dragging behind him uselessly like a tail – he must have been drugged. One of the girls had startlingly blonde hair and grey eyes – her friend was tan with choppily cut brown hair. They both wore the grey uniform of the enemy, complete with black boots, caps and an eagle pinned above the breast pocket. They called out into the shadows and someone stepped out.

The man was huge. Broad shoulders, strong jaw and bulky arms. His eyes were dark and almond shaped and his black hair was cut in a military style. He had the same uniform as the girls, but he had many more pins and awards on the front of his jacket. He had a cap tucked under his arm. Grover imiediatly recognised him as a general and couldn’t help the fear that crept into him. He was in a foreign fortress surrounded by the enemy – how was he ever going to get out? And what if he blurted out something important? He knew a bunch of military secrets…

‘’What have we here?’’ the man was clearly displeased, glancing at Grover as if he was vermin.

‘’A leader of a squadron flying towards Dover, general Zhang!’’ the brown haired girl said, raising her chin, ‘’we caught him before he reached his home land.’’

A slow smirk spread over the general’s face, ‘’Good. Put him in the cage.’’

Grover wondered if he heard correctly. A cage!? A few seconds later he was dragged into a large room with no windows and tossed, indeed, into a large metal cage. The girls tossed him in with way too much force and he slammed his shoulder painfully into the metal.

‘’Very good, _soldaten_ ,’’ the general said, taking a seat on a high backed, dark brown chair in front of the cage, ‘’what’s your name?’’ he addressed Grover. Grover remained silent. The general seemed unbothered, ‘’my name is general Frank Zhang, and I will be leading this…ah, interrogation.’’

Grover stood up in the cage. The ceiling was high enough that he could stand to his full height, and there was a megaphone attached to the top, aimed at him.

‘’Is that what this is then? An interrogation?’’ Grover snapped.

General Zhang leaned forward, ‘’yes, exactly. Now, why don’t you tell me about the members of the resistance?’’

Grover snorted and sat back down. It was going to be along ‘interrogation’.

‘’You know, I have time,’’ the general leaned back.

‘’You do realise I am a very important person,’’ Grover raised his chin, ‘’they’re already looking for me.’’

General Zhang snorted, ‘’for a worthless courier like you? I doubt it.’’

Grover glared at him and remained silent. The general growled, ‘’names, telephones, contacts, surnames, addresses! Tell me, and I might let you go.’’

Grover remained silent.

888

‘’Nico, you can’t go!’’ Maria di Angelo wailed, ‘’you’re still a child!’’

‘’I’m seventeen!’’ Nico walked around their small flat, grabbing essential object to put in his messenger bag, ‘’it’s high time I went to fight for my country.’’

‘’But the war is dangerous!’’

‘’Mom, I’m going to be a courier, not a front-line soldier,’’ Nico tried to placate her, ‘’and I’ll be back soon as a hero! We’ll finally have money and I’ll make you proud.’’

Maria looked at him with tears in her eyes, ‘’but I’m already smiled.’’

Nico embraced her, ‘’I can’t take all the teasing I get just because I’m not as tall as some other guys. Even Chiron doesn’t believe I could make the DAF! This is my one opportunity to prove myself,’’ he pulled away and looked at her, his eyes shining, ‘’wing commander Jackson _himself_ told me that people like me are hard to find! It’s all the encouragement I need!.’’

Maria sighed, seeing that there was no stopping him, ‘’at least stay for dinner.’’

Nico smiled queasily, ‘’I’m so nervous I’d probably hurl it right back up,’’ he grabbed his piggy bank that he had ever since he was ten and broke it. He counted out enough money for a ticket to London, and put the rest on the counter, ‘’you’ll be alright, won’t you, ma?’’

Maria smiled and caressed his cheek, ‘’of course. Go, Nico. You have to catch the afternoon train.’’

He gave her one of his rare grins, ‘’I’ll see you soon, mom!’’

888

The train ride to Trafalgar Square was long but Nico was so giddy he couldn’t sleep. He watched the English countryside hills and forests gradually turn into buildings with growing excitement and by the time he was out of the station, he was practically running. He felt like he could fly right then, plane or no plane…right until he slammed into someone.

888

‘’Here’s the deal, you get the marble, the peanuts are yours. You don’t get the marble and I get the marbles, simple as. Easy gamble!’’ Leo Valdez spoke at ridiculous speed, tossing a marble under a cup and then shuffling it between two other cups. He sat under a lion statue in Trafalgar Square, and two big guys stood above him, observing the cups, eyes squinted. Leo’s hands moved at top speed but his eyes were glued to the two cones of fried honey peanuts the men held in their hands. Man, he wanted those peanuts, and a simple game was the easiest way to get it. He finally ceased his movement and the three red cups stood on the pavement innocently. Leo spread his hands, ‘’take your pick.’’

The two guys peered closely at the identical cups. Leo cleared his throat and nudged a cup with his thumb ‘accidentally’.

‘’That one!’’ one of the men said imiediatly.

Leo lifted the cup to reveal the empty pavement, ‘’ohhhh! Better luck next time! Jheez, and here I thought you guys would win,’’ he plucked the cones out of the confused men’s hands and stuffed his mouth full of the honeyed nuts.

‘’Hey, hey, hey!’’ one of the guys shook his head, ‘’so where _is_ the marble?’’

Leo swallowed in surprise, coughing, and as he did so the men grabbed the cups and pulled them up – there were no marbles.

‘’He made idiots out of us!’’ he growled, ‘’pop the seeds, magic man.’’

Leo raised his hands in a placating gesture, spilling peanuts, ‘’come on, guys, let’s talk about this!’’

‘’We will, right after we give you a beating,’’ they snapped.

And then, out of nowhere, a boy slammed into them. He fell back onto his back and the men tumbled down the few short stairs, landing in a groaning heap. Leo yelled and punched the air in victory.

‘’Oh god, I’m so sorry-‘’ the guy started and Leo pulled him up, shaking his hand simultaneously.  

‘’Nicely done, mister! I’m Leo, what’s your name?’’

Still confused, the boy shook his hand back, ‘’um, Nico… are they alright?’’

Leo peered down, ‘’they should be!’’ he announced cheerfully and paled when one of the guys started getting up, massaging his head, ‘’you have somewhere to be?’’ he turned to Nico.

‘’I was going to sign up for the DAF…’’ Nico said slowly.

‘’A patriot! Nice,’’ Leo grinned, ‘’they’re taking soldiers for the DAF right down there. Come, I’ll take you!’’ eager to get away from a possible beat-up, Leo grabbed Nico’s wrist and hauled him over to the corner of the square. A curly haired, bearded sergeant stood there, watching the crowds that passed around. Behind him was a truck, and inside it, faintly outlined, were the silhouettes of people. Leo stopped abruptly in front of him, and Nico slammed into his back.

‘’What do you want?’’ the sergeant glared down at Nico and Leo. Nico was secretly glad that Leo was only about an inch taller than him.

‘’Hi, boss. We’re here to sign up for the fabulous Demi-God Air Force,’’ Leo flashed him a grin.

The sergeant flipped through his papers without even looking, ‘’you’re not on the list,’’ he said with conviction.

‘’Not on the list!?’’ Leo bellowed, acting offended, ‘’Nico’s not on the list? Check again! Nico, Nico Chico, Nico my amigo! The fantastic, awesome Nico. He’s tall for his height and he’s a _great_ acrobat. He has to be there!’’

The sergeant leaned forward, ‘’he isn’t on the list.’’ He sneered.

‘’Then put him on the list!’’ Leo demanded, feeling responsible for the guy who accidentally saved his ass.

The Sergeant glanced at him critically, ‘’he’s too short,’’ the man flinched away, ‘’and you, son…ugh, does the word ‘soap’ mean anything to you?’’

Leo shrugged apologetically, ‘’actually, I have a very serious shower allergy, so…’’

Nico suddenly noticed that Leo didn’t smell too fresh, and his clothes were pretty dirty. Had he picked up some homeless guy!? Nico suddenly felt lost. He had no money to go back home and coming back without glory was unacceptable. Why hasn’t he thought of signing up before!?

‘’B-but,’’ he looked at the sergeant hopefully, ‘’wing commander Jackson-‘’

‘’Yes, wing commander Jackson!’’ Leo pushed him out of the way, ‘’his good friend. They went to the same school. You wouldn’t want to get on his wrong side, would you, boss?’’

The Sergeant’s eyes got darker, ‘’Jackson? Dammit, don’t tell me you’re his acquaintance.’’

Nico cleared his throat, ‘’I-I am.’’

‘’And if he find out that you didn’t let one of his good friends join the DAF,’’ Leo continued, hooking his arm through the sash running across his chest, ‘’then he’ll take this strap away from you, boss.’’

The sergeant swallowed and sighed, flipping through his papers, ‘’oh, okay. Here. Sign this.’’

Nico felt elevated. He grabbed the pen and signed his name in a flourish.

‘’THERE HE IS!’’

Leo turned. His pursuers were up and running towards him, throwing insults and threats. Leo gulped and turned back to the sergeant, distracted, ‘’um, so where do I…?’’

The sergeant passed him another piece of paper and Leo signed it, looking over his shoulder. Some soldiers had stopped the men and were pushing them back as the men got more violent. Leo grabbed Nico’s shoulder and steered him towards the truck.

‘’So, who’s this Jackson guy?’’

They climbed on and Leo pulled the shuttle closed, peering out of the small window. The men were nowhere to be seen. He waited a few minutes just to be sure.

Nico took a deep breath, ‘’finally! The Demi-god Air Force! Ready to save-‘’

‘’their asses,’’ Leo turned around and scratched his hair. He flashed Nico a grin, ‘’yeah, so this was nice. If you survive, write a letter,’’ Nico gave Leo a confused look as he reached to open the shuttle, ‘’goodbye, my love!’’ he said dramatically, tugging up.

Nothing happened.

Leo laughed nervously and pulled harder. The doors wouldn’t barge. He pressed his face against the barred window, ‘’hey, boss! Hellooooo! There’s been a mistake! I shouldn’t-‘’ the vehicle roared to life and Leo panicked, ‘’HEY, WAIT! I DON’T WANNA BE A SOLDIER! STOP!’’ the truck lurched and started to ride away from Trafalgar Square, picking up speed. Leo slid to the floor hopelessly.

 

 


	2. It's a pair of wings for me!

Groaning and stretching, three young men stumbled out of the truck. Leo jumped out, looking around wildly for escape while Nico walked out last, watching the camp in awe. There was a small kitchen bunker, and a squat building he decided was the sleeping quarters. And there, behind the fence surrounding the training field was the hangar…inside it were the planes. Trying to reign in his excitement, Nico forced all emotion out of his face and turned to the people that would be his comrades from now on. There was a tall, handsome guy with blonde hair and a scar on his lip. He was looking around, as dazed as Nico felt. The other two guys, twins with brown hair, had produced a small ball from their pockets and were kicking it around. Leo was crawling along the metal chain link fence surrounding the camp, looking for holes he could slip through.

Nico heard one of the twins give a shout and turned just when the ball hit him in the face. He fell back, cursing his luck and ready for the laughter and jeering. Instead, one of the twins leaned over him, peering at him in worry. He was maybe eighteen or nineteen.

‘’I’m so sorry!’’ he grinned sheepishly, offering Nico his hand and pulling him to his feet, ‘’Travis and I can get a bit over-excited. I’m Connor.’’

Nico nodded, picking up the ball and handing it to him, ‘’Nico.’’

Connor’s grin widened, ‘’thanks shortie!’’

Nico’s eyebrows drew together, ‘’not shortie. Height doesn’t matter.’’

Connor’s grin faltered and was back in a second, ‘’as you say. Thanks then, Nico.’’

Nico half-smiled and a second later Leo was on him, shaking his shoulders, ‘’get me out of here!’’ he bellowed in his face, ‘’I don’t want to be a soldier!’’

‘’Come on, it’s an adventure!’’ Nico said, ‘’and all you have to do is fly a plane.’’

Leo shook his head vigorously, ‘’nope. I don’t take orders well. My place is in Trafalgar Square.’’

Nico raised an eyebrow, ‘’stealing roasted nuts off random guys? This is your chance to gain honoru!’’

Leo shook his head again, ‘’I never was one for honour.’’

The blonde guy came over, sniffing the air and then he cringed at Leo, ‘’wow, dude, have you ever heard of a bath?’’

‘’He’s allergic to showers,’’ Nico said before Leo could open his mouth.

‘’Good morning, boys!’’ heads turned towards the Sergeant – the same one who recruited Nico, ‘’my name is Sergeant Dionysus. I trust the journey was pleasant.’’

Jason walked over to him, wrinkling his nose still, and put his arm on Sergeant Dionysus’s arm, ‘’actually, the ride was in fact slightly bumpy. Perhaps next time it will be more…comfortable?’’

The sergeant took his hand off in distaste.

‘’I’d like something cold to drink,’’ Leo interjected, ‘’like, uh, lemonade for example?’’

‘’Yes, yes, lemonade, Sergeant D!’’ Travis seconded.

The sergeant smiled pleasantly, ‘’of course, I will organise something imiediatly… AFTER I DUPLICATE MYSELF AND TURN INTO YOUR SERVANT! ATTENTION!’’

Nico imiediatly straightened himself waiting for the others to stand in line with him – they just ran around, bumping into each other. Eventually they noticed Nico and lined up in a wonky line.

‘’Listen up, ladies,’’ sergeant D wielded a golden cane even though he must have only been forty, he grabbed Travis by the shoulders and pulled him into a straighter line, ‘’from today on I will be your mother, wife and lover. You will be walking like a machine, flying like a machine and fighting like a machine. You are the lowest of low, and I am here to make real men out of you!’’ he continued poking the boy into a line and came to a stop in front of Nico, ‘’except for you. You’ll turn around and run home to your mommy, kid.’’

Nico stood straighter and saluted, ‘’to the glory of Britain, sir!’’

Sergeant D curled his lip in disgust and moved on, ‘’first rule of DAF – get it together or you will fly out of here in coffins.’’

Leo shifted next to Nico, stepping out of the line.

‘’About flying out,’’ he said, ‘’if no one else wants to, then I volunteer!’’

Sergeant D slammed his cane into Leo’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him and pushing him back.

‘’Please don’t hit him!’’ now Nico stepped out.

‘’SILENCE, KID!’’ Sergeant D roared, ‘’there is a way for unsubordinated idiots like you – push ups! Fifty each!’’

The five of them obediently dropped to the ground. Nico was so excited he didn’t even realise that there were only five recruits for the DAF because pilots were getting wiped out by the handful by the rumoured Claw, and fear was spreading across the country.

‘’Finally,’’ he breathed out, pushing himself up and down with effort. Leo groaned next to him, slamming into the ground, ‘’finally, a member of the Demi-God Air Force!’’

His proclamation was followed by laboured breaths and groans of his comrades.

Sergeant D grinned, strolling alongside them, ‘’welcome to the army, ladies.’’

888

General Zhang tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair impatiently, watching Grover sitting in the shadows.

‘’Speak,’’ he growled finally, ‘’where did you get your _information_!?’’

Grover crossed his arms over his chest and remained silent.

‘’Should we torture him?’’ Annabeth, his blonde underling, suggested.

Piper grinned, picking out a pair of huge metal scissors from the tray in the corner and snapping them menacingly in the air.

A slow smile spread on Zhang’s face, ‘ _’nein, nein, nein_ ,’’ he said, getting up and nodding at Annabeth who disappeared in the shadows, ‘’there are better methods of getting him to talk.’’

Suddenly the cage lurched upwards, pulled by a fat metal chain. It dangled above ground. Zhang nodded and the speaker’s above Grover’s head crackled, and then the most atrocious sound came out…the German anthem.

‘ _Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit_ __  
Für das deutsche Vaterland!  
Danach lasst uns alle streben  
Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand!  
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit’ 

Piper and Annabeth ran into the middle of the room. They linked arms and started dancing, mocking Grover who screamed and clutched his ears.

‘’What an infernal noise! Make it stop!’’

Piper and Annabeth screeched with laughter, while Zhang sat back down grinning.

Grover hit his head against the bars, ‘’RULE, BRITANNIA, BRITANNIA RULE THE SEA!’’ he screamed above the noise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't mean to offend anyone with the German anthem thing!   
> It's the Nazi Germany version & Grover is just too much of a patriot to abide listening to it xD   
> If you still haven't seen the movie, go see it!


	3. Sing as we go

Nico felt like his lungs would burst, but he continued running, even though he had just finished the push ups. He was second fastest, right after Leo, who had already done dozens of push ups as punishment for slacking off. The Sergeant rode on a tractor, laughing at them as the recruits sweated and panted, running their third lap around the field, with grass brushing against their knees. In the worst bits, the grass was up to their chests and they had to literally wade through. Finally Nico overtook Leo. He grabbed his arm and pulled him along, until finally they stopped at the starting point for the third time. Travis was dry-retching and Jason had his hands on his knees – he was breathing heavily. Leo rubbed the stitch in his sides as Sergeant D hopped off his tractor, pulling the keys out of the ignition.

‘’okay ladies, off you go to the nurse, top speed!’’ sergeant D yelled.

Imiediatly everybody regained their energy. ‘’Nurse! Nurse!’’ they cried excitedly, running towards the medical bunker. Nico somehow found himself at the front and he slammed through the doors. The nurse, startled, turned around and the breath went out of Nico. He looked more like a doctor…or a god. Tanned, muscular, with golden hair, freckles and blue eyes. He wore a white doctor coat and once he noticed it was the soldiers, he smiled. Nico heard the boys behind him inhale.

‘’Hello,’’ the nurse set down his notepad and smiled wider.

Leo wiggled his eyebrows at him, ‘’hey there. Do you have anything for strapping gentlemen like ourselves?’’

The nurse laughed, despite the fact that Leo still didn’t get his shower, ‘’oh, sure.’’

Leo grinned.

‘’Something for the flu,’’ the nurse grinned back and then he produced a huge needle. Nico could almost see the boys take a step back, even though his eyes were glued to the nurse. He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

‘’That’s a…um…big needle…’’

The nurse smiled at him and shooed everybody out, telling them to wait outside.

‘’I’m Nico,’’ Nico blurted awkwardly when he returned.

The nurse held out his needle-free hand, ‘’my pleasure. I’m Will.’’

His voice was melodic. Nico could tell he was a singer. He twirled his finger, commanding Nico to turn around. Nico did so.

‘’take off your pants,’’ Will commanded.

Nico flushed, ‘’w-what?’’

Will laughed, ‘’for the injection.’’

Nico’s blushed deeper, ‘’o-oh, it goes in the…oh…’’ he undid his belt with shaky hands and pulled his boxers down. Now Will was glad Nico couldn’t see him, because he flushed himself – Nico had the most perfect butt cheeks he had ever seen in his life. And he had seen _a lot_ of butt cheeks. He concentrated on the needle, tapping his finger against it to get rid of the air bubbles.

‘’So where are you from?’’ he questioned Nico, working off his embarrassment.

‘’From Greenford,’’ Nico said, ‘’well, not Greenford itself, but close by. What about you?’’

‘’Liverpool,’’ Will shrugged, readying the needle. He couldn’t help the grin from appearing on his face when he slammed the needle into Nico’s butt. Nico yelped but didn’t move until the injection was over. Cringing, he pulled his pants back up and turned to Will, who was cleaning the needle.

‘’Um…thanks?’’

Will smiled, ‘’you’re different from the rest of them,’’ he observed, ‘’you know what you signed up for.’’

Nico shrugged.

Will reached out and ruffled his head. He was quite a bit taller than Nico, ‘’take care of yourself, Nico. And pop by sometime.’’

Nico blushed, nodded and half-ran out of the bunker, yelling at Leo that it was his turn.

888

‘’Every soldier has to be clean,’’ sergeant D proclaimed with a smile, watching the boys line themselves up under the outdoor showers in only their boxers, ‘’shower for everyone under the punishment of push-ups.’’

‘’I’ll take the push-ups,’’ Leo said, backing away from the showers. Sergeant D pushed him under one of them and turned on the cold water. Leo screamed while the others scrubbed themselves down. Nico noticed Will watching from the nurse’s bunker and quickly turned to Leo.

He blinked in surprise, ‘’…I thought your skin was darker.’’

‘’It was dirt,’’ Leo sulked, letting Nico wash his hair. Nico decided not to comment on the fact that he thought Leo’s hair was black – once he got the dust out of it, it appeared to be brown.

After the showers Leo was moody as hell, but at least he smelled nice.

Dinner was next.

‘’A soldier must eat properly,’’ Sergeant D said, nodding to the cook who scooped bowlfuls of thick porridge into the dishes in the soldier’s hands. Nico cringed but Leo’s eyes were as wide as his plate. Nico dabbed at his porridge with his spoon for so long that eventually Leo grabbed the plate and downed its content.

After dinner, the sergeant himself gave Nico a haircut. He watched his thick, black hair fall around him. He always kept it in a long-ish mess and now it was shorter than ever. He felt it with his fingers and smiled. Leo’s hair proved impossible to shave, so the sergeant cut the sides as best as he could and let him off. Jason’s blonde hair got cut too. The twins already had appropriate haircuts.

Nico’s excitement returned when the sergeant led them to the artillery, handing them their light brown uniforms and rifles which they strapped around their backs.

‘’Each soldier has a hat, from which one is in the warehouse,’’ sergeant D shoved a hat at Jason’s chest. Travis and Connor already picked out theirs.

Travis grinned and fist-bumped Connor’s hat which sat firmly on his head, ‘’did that hurt?’’

Connor hit him back, grinning, ‘’no. did that hurt?’’

‘’Nah,’’ Travis slammed his fist hard into Connor’s hat, ‘’did _that_ hurt?’’

Connor growled, tugged Travis’s hat off and punched him in the face.

And then, finally, it was night time.

‘’And now, dear ladies, it is time for bed,’’ Sergeant D said.

The bunker was…well, cramped and uncomfortable. There were no beds, just mats spread on the floor and blankets.

‘’I won’t fall asleep here,’’ Connor whined.

‘’It’s not that bad,’’ Jason sighed, settling himself on his mat.

Leo sprawled himself on his when the sergeant closed the doors, ‘’just like at home,’’ he said. Nico pulled his mat next to his and lay down. He listened to his comrades’ fall asleep one by one, but Leo remained awake. Nico shuffled closer to him and Leo pulled back his blanket, pulling Nico towards him and lending him his warmth.

‘’Leo?’’

‘’Mmmh?’’

‘’I’m sorry for dragging you into this,’’ Nico whispered.

Leo smiled, ‘’don’t worry about it. I get free food. And I do smell better now.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Nico smiled sleepily, closing his eyes, ‘’you really do.’’

888

Zhang rapped his knuckles against the metal cage and Grover sat up, inhaling sharply. He looked dizzy, drunk.

‘’Talk!’’ Zhang commanded.

‘’Commander Underwood, Squadron 56 Seafire, DAF! Number 2-3-0-5-2-2-2-2-2-3-6-7’’ Grover yelled.

Zhang slammed his hand against the bars, losing his patience.

‘’Bring the serum!’’ he commanded.

Piper ran into view with the trolley, giggling. Amongst other devices of questionable sanitary was a huge needle full of purple liquid.

Zhang smiled, ‘’ah, the truth serum.’’

Grover’s eyes widened.

 


	4. Till the lights of London shine again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for everyone who is reviewing and leaving Kudos, you guys are great <3   
> If you STILL haven't watched Valiant, go do it!

Nico stirred but didn’t open his eyes. He was pressed into Leo’s chest, inhaling his now-fresh smell. Leo’s one arm was folded under his head and the other one was pulled across Leo’s shoulders. It was warm. It was peaceful. It was quiet, except for the steady breathing of the squadron and-

‘’WAKEY WAKEY LADIES!!!’’

Nico nearly jumped out of his skin. Leo screamed and bolted up. The twins were up on their feet – they tripped and fell over each other. Jason didn’t stir until Sergeant D whacked him over the head with his cane.

‘’Today is your first flying practice!’’

888

It was nearly evening when sergeant D finally allowed the squadron to get into actual planes and leave the ground. They got the old, recycled planes but Nico loved his imiediatly. It was an old de Havilland Mosquito, painted in khaki with wide wings and two engines. It was bit rusty and took a while to start, but after that it was a smooth flight. Leo got a grey Sea Gladiator with double-decker wings and he was the one who imiediatly knew how to fly it – it seemed he was good with machines, something that was surprising to everyone but him. Conor got a Fairey Firefly II, a strange shaped thing with a large turbine while Travis was assigned a yellow and brown Gloster Gauntlet with wings that seemed to act like an umbrella. Jason’s Grumman Goblin was the strangest though; it was an ‘overweight’ plane, shaped like a bullet and painted like the French flag. Jason fell in love with it imiediatly.

As soon as Nico hit the air, he felt right at home. He steered his Mosquito like it was is fourth limb, easily and swiftly. Leo whistled through the air piece.

‘’Nice flying, Nico,’’ his voice cackled through, ‘’I’m right behind you.’’

Nico grinned freely with no one to see him, ‘’you’re not too bad yourself.’’

‘’Hey, blockheads,’’ this came from sergeant D, ‘’you are Squadron F, do you know why?’’

‘’F for Fantastic, right?’’ Nico said excitedly, overcome with happiness of actually flying a plane.

‘’F for Formidable!’’ Jason whooped into his earpiece and Travis laughed.

‘’Er, F for Philosophical?’’ Leo asked.

‘’No, idiots!’’ the sergeant yelled, ‘’you are squadron F because you are the fighter of the Future!’’

Conor suddenly screeched and Nico watched him veer sideways, narrowly avoiding a crash with Jason.

‘’The _very_ far future,’’ sergeant snapped into his head piece from the ground, ‘’and I’m supposed to make you flyers of today, due yesterday!’’

Nico swooped lower to the ground, aiming to pull his plane up suddenly, testing its limits, but the engine spluttered and died and Nico found the Mosquito shooting down. It hit the ground hard, jolting Nico so violently he hit his head. The earpiece tumbled off his head but the plane stopped without damaging Nico, the area or itself any further. Nico slipped out of the cabin, groaning. Leo was next to him in a second, having landed his Gladiator a few meters away.

‘’Nico, are you okay!?’’ he noticed the cut, ‘’that’s pretty nasty.’’

Nico touched the cut self-consciously, ‘’it’s nothing serious. I think there’s something wrong with the engine.’’

Leo glanced over Nico’s shoulder, ‘’I’ll take a look at it,’’ he promised, ‘’but you better get Will to look at your head.’’

Sergeant dismissed Nico when he promised he’d be back in half an hour for more theory training and he made his way to Nico’s medical hut. Now he felt strangely shy. He kept dabbing at his cut, wondering if the blood had dripped into his face or if his hair was all matted and gross now. He didn’t want Will to see him in that state but he couldn’t risk a concussion, so with a deep breath he knocked and entered Will’s hut.

Will was sorting through the bandages when Nico entered and imiediatly he grinned. He caught himself when he saw Nico’s injure, ‘’oh, Nico! What did you do?’’

‘’They let me fly a plane,’’ Nico said truthfully.

Will smiled at that and extended his hand. He took Nico’s wrist and led him over to the bed. Nico sat down and waited patiently for Will to finish fussing over the cut, dabbing stingy anti-septic into the cut and then slapping a plus size plaster on top.

‘’The cut isn’t deep so it’s bleeding a lot,’’ Will said matter-of-factly, cleaning his face gently, ‘’and you don’t seem to have a concussion but don’t push yourself today,’’ he proceeded to check Nico’s ankles and wrists for twists or bruises. Nico’s eyes half-closed at the gentle, soothing touch of Will’s fingers against his skin. He noticed Will had long, elegant fingers…he was long and elegant in general. Pretty, even. Nico didn’t realise he was leaning in until Will looked up and he was forced to jerk away.

‘’Well, you seem fine.’’

Nico nodded, ‘’thanks. Well, I gotta fly.’’

Will got up and ruffled his hair. Nico made it towards the door. On impulse he looked over his shoulder, ‘’stay safe,’’ he said and, distracted, he tripped over the doors. He stumbled but didn’t fall – even so he flushed scarlet and hurried away, cursing himself while Will chuckled affectionately.

888

‘’Okay, idiots,’’ sergeant D paced in front of the Future Squadron, hands behind his back. Jason, Travis, Connor, Leo and Nico were sitting on tyres, glancing at the pull up board behind the sergeant, ‘’it’s all fun and games and flying until you are actually being chased. Your job in this war is to be the mailmen – important codes and messages will go through your hands and the country depends on you to deliver them. In reality the war is being fought behind the front lines and you are top soldiers – or you are supposed to be. Flying is easy enough by day but at night it’s a whole different story…’’

‘’In the complete darkness you will be flanked by planes but you can never tell how many there are around you until it is too late. At night you have only a few seconds to decide if the plane that suddenly appears next to you is friend or foe,’’ without a warning, the sergeant grabbed the bit of string dangling from the board and pulled down a picture of a plane. Nico, who had spent most of his childhood looking at pictures of planes, recognised it imiediatly as a Messerschmitt Me 209, a German aircraft, by its low wings, ‘’friend or foe!?’’

‘’Er…’’ the group said.

‘’Foe!’’ Nico shouted at the same time as the squad exploded with ‘’friend! Friend!’’

‘’No, you nimrods, that’s a German plane! It’s FOE!’’ the sergeant yelled, bringing up the next picture, ‘’friend or foe?’’ he demanded.

‘’Foe! Foe!’’ the others shouted imiediatly, without even looking, even though it was clearly a British Hawker Tempest.

‘’Friend!’’ Nico yelled but his voice was drowned out.

The Sergeant face palmed himself, ‘’that’s a FRIEND! Do you see a bloody swastika!?’’

The group quietened down, guilty, and Nico sighed. The board was flipped again. Over the picture of the plane someone had plastered a big poster advertising a night club. The majority of it was taken up by a big-breasted woman with brown-blonde hair.

Travis wolf whistled. Jason grinned, ‘’ _friend_ ,’’ he said suggestively.

Sergeant D turned red with anger and pulled the next picture down. It was a strange, grainy picture and everybody squinted. The sergeant seemed to give up on them.

888

Two weeks later Nico found himself running through high grass towards Travis. He was standing in the middle of the field with a blue pipe in his hand, waiting and looking bored. The blue pipe was Nico’s ‘secret message’ that he had to deliver to Jason before the Germans, aka Leo and Connor, got him. He sped up, keeping his head low and glad for his height for once – Leo and Connor couldn’t see him over the tall grass. He shot past Travis, snatching the pipe from his hand and sped on.

Leo came out of nowhere and went in for a tackle. Nico fell to the ground and rolled while Leo snatched at empty air. He was up on his feet in a second, adrenaline pumping through his veins. There was Jason! His blonde hair was easily noticeable and he held out his hand for the ‘message’ eagerly. As soon as the pipe was in his hand he was off running towards the sergeant to deliver it. Nico watched him, breathing hard. He was a tiny blotch in the distance when Connor came out of the grass and tackled him to the ground. Nico groaned, watching Jason go down and felt Leo jump onto his back.

‘’Nice reflexes,’’ he said, squeezing his arms. Nico huffed.

888

‘’Do you shitheads know what a _formation_ is!?’’

Nico heard Leo groan as he changed directions, positioning himself above Nico. The shrill sound of engines was deafening and it surrounded Nico from all sides. Except the formation wasn’t complete – Jason’s Goblin was hovering around, unsure of where to join.

‘’Jason, flank the back!’’ Nico ordered into the head piece and Jason finally moved.

‘’Hallelujah, you’re not that incompetent after all!’’ sergeant announced into the communication line, ‘’now do a row!’’

After a formation, a simple row was easy enough. Eventually they split off to do some manoeuvres. Nico heard Travis yell ‘eight!’ into the com and Nico watched out of the corner of his eye as the twins angled their planes and then swished past each other, turning to draw an invisible eight in the air. It was smooth and impressive until Connor yelled ‘’seven!’’ into the com. Travis, thrown off, nearly crashed into his brother – a performance followed by a whole paragraph consisting of only swearing spilling from the sergeant’s mouth.

888

It was nearly ‘bedtime’ when Nico went to visit Will.

During the past two weeks he had been to the med hut at least five times for various injuries and he quickly became friends with Will. When he came in, Will indicated the bed. Nico sat down and was handed a steaming cup of tea – other than the porridge and meat on Sundays, tea was the only other thing supplied at camp, and it was the only nice thing.

‘’How’s your wrist?’’ Will asked, sorting through his bandages. He liked to do that.

‘’It’s fine,’’ Nico glanced at his bandaged wrist which he had injured during combat practice two days before.

‘’I’ll take the bandage off in a second,’’ Will promised. Nico nodded. He was sleepy but he didn’t want to go yet. He laid his head down, yawning, and closed his eyes. After about ten minutes Will finally came over. Nico didn’t open his eyes. He wasn’t asleep but he didn’t want to get up. And then Will did a strange thing. He picked his wrist up, unwound the bandage and pressed his lips to the bruise. He put the hand back down quickly and Nico shivered, pretending to sleep. After that he really did nod off, and when he woke up he was wrapped around Leo back in their sleeping bunker.


	5. Run Rabbit Run

‘’No, no! Listen to this one though,’’ Grover crackled, clutching his stomach, ‘’so a few years back I went to get some camouflage trousers for a mission but…I couldn’t find any! Because they were camouflaged!’’ Grover exploded with laughter at his own joke and Frank sank lower in his chair, cursing the truth serum. It made the prisoner talk, but what came out of his mouth was nonsense and unimportant information, ‘’oh, here’s another thing that happened!’’

Annabeth shook her head and stalked out of the room.

‘’Can we shut him up?’’ Piper begged.

‘’Just listen,’’ Frank snarled, ‘’he is bound to spill sooner or later.’’

888

A month later, Sergeant D was watching squadron F finally form a formation correctly, with no mistakes or reminders. He watched on as the formation flew over his head, the squadron whooping into the com in victory.  Then the sergeant spotted a plane, far away. He frowned, wondering if di Angelo had flown off by himself again. He counted the formation – five. That meant…

The Hawker Demon landed on the grass and Wing Commander Jackson stepped out, making his way to the sergeant. The squadron, oblivious to his arrival, flew on. Sergeant D took off his com and managed to glare at Percy while saluting. He had trained him personally and given him hell, and it pissed him off that Percy had become someone he had to salute to.

‘’Sergeant Dionysus,’’ Percy acknowledged. Usually he’d make rude remarks or bicker with him, but that day he had shadows under his eyes, so the sergeant kept back his own remarks too, ‘’I hope you’re well.’’

‘’What happened?’’ the sergeant cut straight to the chase.

Percy moved his hand to run through his hair but stopped himself, letting it drop, ‘’Squadron 33 V has been eliminated,’’ he said quietly, ‘’Vickers Vildebeest and Vought Chesapeake were shot out of the sky by the enemy when they left the cargo plane on the way to France. Nakamura’s body was found in the remains of the Vildebeest but Beauguard’s body was never found.  Beckendorf managed to get to the coast of France and then he went off radar. His Vultee Vengeance was found by a patrolling Stinson 105 Voyager not far from the location he was supposed to land in. The report was never given to him and the resistance expects us to send someone to pick it up and deliver it.’’

Sergeant D blanched, ‘’you can’t…you can’t mean my lot? They haven’t completed training!’’

‘’They are the last ones who can do it,’’ Percy said forcefully and his features softened, ‘’we can win or lose this war, depending on if this report will be delivered or not. This roll of paper is the most important thing in this war, and it cannot stay in France. It needs to be delivered. I’m sure these kids are great couriers. They must go in two days time.’’

‘’But they’re just kids!’’ the sergeant felt a protective anger rise in him, ‘’they can’t do it.’’

‘’They have to.’’ Percy replied simply. 

888

‘’The wing commander came,’’ Will was turned towards the window, not looking at Nico, ‘’that means you’re probably going to fly out soon.’’

‘’In two days time,’’ Nico said, ‘’I’m so excited!’’

Will turned around and Nico faltered. His eyes were so sad Nico felt like his heart was breaking.

‘’Oh, Will,’’ he stood up and walked over to the blonde. He didn’t know whether he should hug him, pat his shoulder or take his hand, but as soon as he reached him, Will gathered him in his arms, holding him to his chest.

‘’You’ll come to say goodbye, right?” he whispered against his hair.

‘’Of course,’’ Nico said heatedly.

‘’And you will come back.’’ It wasn’t a question but Nico still nodded, wrapping his arms around Will’s stomach. Hugging Will was different than hugging Leo. The latter was all skinny arms and hard angles. He tended to practically smother Nico at night and he was never gentle with his affection – his hugs were always fierce and Nico liked them. He knew that Leo cared for him because of them. But Will was different; he could feel his stomach muscles through his shirt and he smelled differently too. Nico nuzzled his face into Will’s chest and he felt Will breathe out, his arms pulling him closer.

‘’I’ll miss you.’’ He confessed.

‘’I won’t be gone long.’’

‘’You don’t know that,’’ Will’s voice broke, ‘’please, just please come back. Please, Nico.’’

Nico blinked in surprise and tried to pull away to look at Will, but the nurse wouldn’t let him.

‘’Hey, calm down, Will,’’ Nico murmured, brushing his hands against his back, ‘’I won’t die.’’

Will nodded and rested his forehead on top of Nico’s head. His hair was getting longer again but sergeant hadn’t given any of them a haircut again.

‘’I need to go. I’ll get push ups if I’m late for dinner.’’

Will released him and forced a smile.

‘’See you tomorrow?’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Nico felt bad leaving Will like that. He stood on his tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, ‘’see you tomorrow.’’

888

‘’Um, you wanted to see me, Wing Commander?’’

Jason was feeling a bit nervous. He had heard of Perseus Jackson, the best air pilot to live, and he had been tense at dinner. He could feel him watching him. Perseus was younger than Jason expected – maybe twenty. His green eyes had followed his every move while he ate and Jason wondered if he was doing something wrong…and then he got summoned to the commander’s temporary chambers. He got a small little barrack all to himself, and it was way nicer than squad F’s – it actually had a bed!

The commander turned around when Jason entered and in the pale light of the oil lamp, in only his trousers, he looked even younger. Jason swallowed. He looked vulnerable.

‘’You’re Jason, right?’’ the commander said quietly.

‘’Ah, yes. It’s an honour to finally meet you, commander.’’

‘’Percy,’’ he corrected him.

Jason nodded awkwardly, ‘’um, what is this about…Percy?’’

Percy crossed the room and Jason noticed he was a few inches shorter than Jason himself, ‘’nothing much,’’ he said, grabbing Jason’s shirt and pulling him into a kiss. Jason jerked away almost imiediatly, a shocked expression painted on his face.

‘’W-what? What did you just do?’’

Percy shrugged and looked away. He reminded Jason of a sulking teenager rather than a famous Wing Commander in that moment.

‘’Why?’’ Jason asked.

Percy shrugged again, ‘’you’re handsome,’’ he mumbled, ‘’and I need a distraction.’’

Jason wondered just how many people Percy had lost, and at such a young age. It was probably a lot. No wonder he looked so haunted and so scared. He was probably scared of sending squad F to their death as well.

‘’We’re not gonna die,’’ Jason blurted.

Percy turned his eyes to Jason, surprised. They shone in the dim light, ‘’what?’’

‘’Us lot,’’ Jason said, gaining confidence, ‘’we might be inexperienced but we’ve got luck on our side. So we’re gonna get the mission done and we’ll come home.’’

He hoped to give Percy some comfort but instead his green eyes filled with tears. Jason’s eyes widened. This _was not_ the confident man he saw on TV sometimes.

‘’I’m sorry, I’m not usually like this,’’ Percy whispered, ‘’it’s just…I lost the Seafire Squad a few months ago, and they were the best. Then last week I sent Squad V to their death. This month twelve people died, and three went missing, all on my command,’’ Percy sniffed and wiped away the tears that kept coming, ‘’and you’re all just kids. I saw you. Some of you are what, sixteen? If you die…I can’t…I won’t be able to…’’ he sat down on his bed and his face in his hands, ‘’I can’t stop these thoughts. I can’t think about anything else.’’

Jason knelt down in front of him and pulled his hands away from his face, ‘’then think about me,’’ he said quietly, ‘’I’ll distract you, as you ordered.’’

‘’Don’t force yourse-‘’

Jason pressed his lips to Percy’s and he enjoyed the way the commander melted into his arms, pressing his fists against his chest. Jason drew his hands up and down his muscled back and shoulders. One of his hands came to rest against his cheek, wiping away his tears. Jason grabbed his waist and pulled him up and onto the bed, but instead of crawling on top of him, he lay next to him. Jason pressed gentle kisses to his forehead, cheeks, mouth and neck until he finally fell asleep.

That night Nico wondered where the hell Jason was.

888

Nico was anxious all dinner the next day. He really had to go see Will before they left, but the sergeant wouldn’t leave the dinner hall. After dinner they’d have an assembly, and then he’d take them to their barrack and lock the doors for a ‘good night’s sleep’. In the morning there would be no time for goodbyes. Finally, the sergeant checked his watch.

‘’Okay, ladies. Report to the field in ten minutes.’’

Everybody imiediatly started eating faster. Travis discreetly asked Jason where he was the night before, to which Jason just shook his head. And then Leo stood up.

‘’Hey, boss, um, there’s this thing,’’ he said, ‘’well, um…I have a bit of a problem…’’

‘’Hurry up,’’ sergeant D snapped at him.

‘’I can’t really go into battle. I’ve got a doctor’s note and everything.’’

‘’You done?’’

‘’I love my country. Really, I do. It’s a real shame I can only die for it once, and I’d eagerly die for it, just not today-‘’

‘’Shut up,’’ the sergeant said.

‘’I guess…that’s a no then?’’

The sergeant turned around and left and Leo sat back down, defeated. Nico felt a pang of guilt. He had been so occupied with Will he forgot that Leo didn’t actually want to be part of the DAF and he didn’t want to go into battle either.

‘’Hey, we might not clash with the enemy,’’ Nico said, ‘’think of this as an adventure.’’

Leo snorted, ‘’yeah. Adventure.’’

Five minutes later Nico ran frantically into Will’s bunker.

‘’I don’t have long. This is the only time I can get away so I just came to say goodbye.’’ He gushed.

Will grabbed his wrists and pulled him close.

‘’I love you.’’ He deadpanned. Nico blinked, ‘’I’m in love with you Nico. So you have to come back, okay?’’ he kissed him quickly and shortly on the mouth, ‘’promise me.’’

Nico blinked, shocked, ‘’I promise…’’

Will smiled and nodded. He kissed him quickly again and before it all caught up with Nico, Will pushed him outside and slammed the door. Nico touched his lips in wonder and wandered into the field, feeling drunk. Thankfully, no one noticed. His squad was standing in a straight line, waiting for the sergeant to speak. The Wing Commander was behind him, and he didn’t look at any of them.

Sergeant D inspected them before opening his mouth, ‘’my dear boys. We have suffered losses – huge losses. You are what is left. For today, still, we fight for our country, but tomorrow our guns could be plucked from our lifeless bodies and our bones could be fed to rabid dogs,’’ he smiled, ‘’but that isn’t important, because hereby I declare that each and every one of you brave men gathered here have fulfilled their duty to fight for f-‘’

‘’Food!’’ Connor announced.

‘’Freedom!’’ Nico corrected him.

‘’That’s right. Your commander will be Perseus Jackson himself.’’

Percy stepped forward and nodded at them, ‘’ our mission is to be dropped behind enemy lines in the occupied France, to make contact with the French resistance, to get the top secret vital message and be back here by sundown the next day. Good luck. The fate of the freedom loving world depends on us.’’

‘’You must do everything you can for this mission to succeed.’’ The sergeant added.

Squad F nodded and saluted, retiring to their barracks one last time.

888

Nico awoke in the dead of night alone in his and Leo’s space on the floor. Leo wasn’t there. He shot up in bed and ran out of the barrack, which was open. He hopped over Jason and nearly fell outside. Leo was standing half way down the field. Nico didn’t call out. He charged after him and tackled him to the ground. Leo fell with a muffled yell and Nico straddled him, pinning his wrists to the ground.

‘’Where the hell are you going?’’ he demanded in a harsh whisper.

‘’Home,’’ Leo said angrily, ‘’to Trafalgar square.’’

‘’How are you going to get there!?’’ Nico demanded.

‘’Well,’’ Leo started with a voice that meant he had it all figured out, ‘’I’ll swipe one of the planes and ditch it on Duncannon street. I can walk the rest. No one will see me – it’s night time.’’

‘’But what about your duty to your country?’’ Nico demanded.

‘’What duty, kid?’’ Leo spat, ‘’I’m a homeless guy with no job and no honour. I don’t care about my duty,’’ he shoved Nico off him and sat up ‘’look around you,’’ he gestured to the bunkers, the planes, the training gear, ‘’are these our toys? No. It’s not our war to fight and I’m _going_.’’ He stood up and Nico followed. Leo looked at him with pleading eyes, ‘’come with me Nico. Trafalgar Square will be ours. You don’t have to die for this.’’

Nico raised his chin, ‘’I’m not going to die,’’ then he turned and went back to the barracks, leaving Leo standing in the middle of the field. In the morning he was long gone.


	6. Shhhhhh, its a miliary secret!

 

Nico flew his Mosquito into the big Cargo plane that would transport them to France and landed next to Travis’s Firefly. He felt miserable, knowing that Leo wasn’t there and that he could technically be persecuted for desertion…even though he never wanted to be a soldier. His com cackled and sergeant’s angry voice came through, ‘’di Angelo, where’s Valdez!? His plane is gone…is he flying circles _again_!?”

Nico swallowed. The sergeant didn’t realise Leo was gone yet, but it was time to tell him. In approximately five minutes they would take off, ‘’actually, sergeant-‘’

The com cackled again, ‘’I just finished!’’ came Leo’s cheerful voice before his Gladiator swept neatly through the open hatch and landed behind Nico’s mosquito.

‘’Leo!’’ he exclaimed in relief and disbelief.

‘’Hi, boys,’’ Nico could hear his grin, ‘’we’re all here, boss.’’

There was a silence, before sergeant D spoke up, ‘’boys, it was a pleasure training you. May God have you in his care.’’

‘’Aw, sergeant, are you actually tearing up?’’ Jason teased. The com cackled and sergeant’s line shut off. Nico exhaled. This was really it.

‘’Ready, boys?’’ Percy’s voice came through.

Nico clenched and unclenched his fists, ‘’ready!’’ he said with the rest of squadron F. The hatch closed with a mechanical hum and the lights came on. Nico looked to his left and Travis grinned at him from his cabin.

Sergeant D watched the cargo plane take off and saluted at its heavy silhouette disappearing in the darkening sky. Will watched from his own window, sighting. His fax machine buzzed and a piece of paper filled with a German code came through. Will hadn’t told Nico, but he was being called into London to crack codes there. When they met again, he wouldn’t be a nurse anymore…

 _If_ they met again.

888

‘’And I told her ‘actually I’m afraid of heights’ and she said ‘a pilot afraid of heights?’ – it was so funny, trust me,’’ Grover laughed, slamming his fist against the metal cage, ‘’and this _other_ time-‘’

‘’ENOUGH!’’ Frank yelled.

‘’Hey, hey, hey!’’ Grover focused his eyes on him and crossed his arms over his chest, ‘’who gave me the serum? You told me to talk, and so I’m talking! And I’m happy to! This military career is alright but they keep saying ‘be quiet. Don’t tell anybody. It’s a military secret’ and I’ve got feelings, you know!? I want to let them out! No one ever listens to the things I have to say. For example, I thought my favourite colour was brown, like my eyes, but apparently it is-‘’

‘’SHUT UP!’’ Zhang roared, grabbing the bars and rattling them. He rarely lost his temper like that – he was actually quiet and even timid in nature, when he wasn’t putting up a cruel front for the prisoners. But this one was _really_ doing his head in, ‘’SHUT YOUR MOUTH!’’

‘’Whoa, watch your tone!’’ Grover reprimanded, ‘’you could learn manners from the French. Those adorable French resistance members leaving in a warehouse near the port are so cute! When I last met with them in San Pierre-‘’ suddenly Grover clamped a hand over his mouth and Frank laughed in disbelief.

He grinned, stepping back, as Annabeth and Piper jogged over, ‘’oh, the Truth Serum,’’ he said lovingly, then snapped his fingers at the cage dismissively, ‘’make it night.’’

Piper and Annabeth threw a dark brown cloth over the top of the cage and lowered it over the bars, trapping Grover in darkness.

‘’What did you say your favourite colour was?’’ Annabeth called.

Grover’s hand slinked out and he raised the corner of the cloth up, ‘’pink!’’ he blurted and clamped his hand over his mouth again, but the words kept coming, ‘’but not dark pink or dead pink…you know, just, pinky-pink!’’

Piper grinned. Annabeth raised an eyebrow in question, ‘’I also like pink,’’ she confused. Annabeth frowned.

‘’Girls,’’ the commander tossed Annabeth a pair of keys, ‘’what do you say to a little trip to the city of love?’’

888

‘’Can you imagine that we’re getting the most important mission of this war?’’ Nico said, excitement dripping from his voice.

‘’Yes,’’ squad F chorused through the com.

‘’Yeah,’’ Nico grinned in the seclusion of the Mosquito, ‘’me too.’’

Suddenly the plane jerked so hard Nico’s teeth rattled. Percy’s voice came through, ‘’bad news, lads. We’re getting bombed. Bomber planes, not directed at us, but they won’t care if they hit us. Time to disappear – ready the planes.’’

With a deafening roar, the floor opened revealing a ramp that disappeared into the night lit with a million explosions.

Nico gulped. Fear suddenly overcame him. This was real. Percy seemed to read his mind, ‘’it’s okay that you’re scared. Only an idiot doesn’t feel scared. Fear is the song of a soldier’s soul.’’

The lights around them turned green.

‘’di Angelo, you first! Stolls, follow him!’’ Nico obediently clicked the keys into the ignition. A moment later his plane jolted as the safety locks released the wheels and he rolled towards the ramp, picking up speed until he shot into the night. Travis and Conor were close by. Leo’s safety locks released next, ‘’Valdez, go!’’ Percy ordered. Leo rolled out. That left Jason.

‘’You go first, Percy!’’ Jason said into the com.

There was a terrifying, long silence, before the plane jolted again and Percy spoke, ‘’I can’t. My safety is stuck. You have to go.’’

A cold dread settled over Jason, ‘’no way. I’m not leaving you!’’

‘’That’s an order, Grace,’’ Percy snapped and then added in a softer tone, ‘’please go. You promised me you wouldn’t die. So don’t die.’’

Jason felt the safety release and in a trance his plane flew off the ramp. At the last second he took control of the machine, turning it towards the cargo plane. A wing has been damaged. Jason watched the ramp tensely but Percy didn’t emerge. He angled his plane; ready to fly back in, when the plane made a whining noise and tipped, shooting towards the ground at top speed. Jason screamed, a long, heart-broken scream and he opened his eyes just in time to see the plane become engulfed in a ball of fire.

 

 


	7. The last time I saw Paris

When Jason finally landed and jumped out of his Goblin, the ground was enveloped in chaos. All over the horizon factories were exploding and bombs were being dropped. The stench of smoke reached him even in the abandoned field in front of a warehouse that they had landed in. The planes were parked in a strange pattern on the ground. The twins were arguing loudly, Leo was ranting to himself and Nico was trying to control all of them.

‘’Jason!’’ he breathed in relief and grabbed his shoulders, ‘’where is the Wing Commander?’’

Jason looked at him with mournful eyes that broke Nico’s heart.

‘’He…didn’t make it,’’ Jason whispered.

For a second there was complete and utter silence, and then Leo kicked his plane and howled, ‘’we’re dead! We’re dead!’’

Jason ran a hand through his hair, ‘’look, it’s the Wing Commander. There’s no way he’s dead-‘’

As he said so, the mangled cargo plane exploded in the distance. Jason faltered and dropped his hands. Travis wailed about not wanting to die. Leo kicked the plane some more. Jason sat on the ground, putting his head in his hands.

‘’Can you all please SHUT UP!?’’ Nico screamed finally. Leo stopped kicking his Gladiator.

Connor took a deep breath, ‘’So what’s the plan?’’

‘’Death!’’ Leo said imiediatly, flapping his hands around, ‘’death is our plan B!’’

‘’Our plan…’’ Nico cleared his throat and tried to appear confident, ignoring Leo, ‘’our plan is to…take cover and think about our next move.’’

Travis looked at him for a long second, ‘’your plan is to…make a plan?’’

Nico sighed angrily, ‘’let’s fly,’’ he started walking towards the warehouse. The inside was dusty and dark. He could only see a few steps in front of him, but he squared his shoulders and marched into the darkness. He hesitated when it engulfed him, and took comfort in the F squad who creeped after him. Suddenly there was a rustle in the darkness. Nico threw his arm to the side, stopping the others. He stilled his breath, searching for the source of the movement.

‘ _’Vive la France!_ ’’

A girl emerged from the shadows, carrying a large torch. Her skin was a dark brown and her hair was a curly mess. Her eyes shone gold and she wore a brown cap on her head and a French Resistance band around her arm.

‘’ _Pardonne-moi_ , you are from the DAF, _non_?’’

The others imiediatly straightened at the sight of a pretty girl and he saw out of the corner of his eye Leo run his hand through his wild hair.

‘’Uh, yes, that’s us,’’ Nico answered, saluting.

‘’We are from the _résistance_ ,’’ as the girl spoke, another one emerged behind her, also carrying a torch.

This one was slightly less pretty, with choppily cut black hair and a silver jacket thrown over a long, black skirt. She didn’t speak and her free hand twitched.

‘’Gaullist legion,’’ the girl saluted back. She had a thick French accent. 

‘’Oh, thank god. I really thought it was going to be something worse,’’ Leo grinned, ‘’how did you find us?’’

The girl laughed and the one behind her raised an eyebrow, ‘’well, a plane fell, there was an explosion, and then we just followed the sound of shrieking, yelling, more shrieking, crying, lamentations, weeping, whining, whinging, roars, moans, groans…’’

The boys shuffled uncomfortably.

‘’we got the gist,’’ Leo said, and the others nodded.

The girl smiled kindly, ‘’let me introduce myself. I am General Hazel Levesque.’’

Leo wolf whistled and Nico elbowed him in the ribs.

‘ _’Parlez-vouse Francais_?’’ Hazel asked, tilting her head.

‘’ _Oui_? I mean, no,’’ Nico said quickly, ‘’let’s cut to the chase. You have the messages, we have the mission.’’

‘’Slow down, _monsieur_ ,’’ Hazel said, gesturing to her companion, ‘’this is Thalia, her speciality is sa-‘’ she stopped herself and leaned closer to them, whispering, ‘’sabotage.’’

‘’SABOTAGE!’’ Thalia screamed, producing two small hand grenades from nowhere. Hazel inhaled sharply and swiped them from her hands, then gave the boys a meaningful look, ‘’front line trauma.’’

Thalia looked at her sheepishly, ‘’ _pardon_ ,’’ she mumbled.

‘ _’Alors, monsieurs_ ,’’ Hazel reached for out her hand to the side and flicked the light switch on, ‘’welcome to France.’’

Now it was Jason’s turn to wolf whistle. The warehouse was huge and held half a dozen beautiful fighter planes.

Nico looked Hazel in the eye, ‘’we need to get the message.’’

Hazel nodded, all seriousness, ‘’I will take you to the collection point, but it will not be an easy journey. On every corner there are Germans…we are occupied, after all.’’ Her smile was back, ‘’but that will not be a problem for you. After all you are squadron A!’’ Cue more uncomfortable shuffling. Hazel frowned, ‘’so B?’’

‘’Um, no…’’ Travis said slowly.

‘’So C?’’

‘’Erm…’’

Hazel blinked, ‘’then you have to be squadron D.’’

‘’Between me and you Squadron D wasn’t _that_ good,’’ Connor mumbled and then trailed off.

Hazel put her hands on her hips, ‘’well, you will be consummated by Germans then.’’

888

Nico flew in his mosquito, fast and silent, behind Thalia and Hazel who were piloting a Bre.270 and leading the way. The sky wasn’t as dark anymore – a few hours until the sun would rise. In the darkness, occupied France seemed peaceful and still. The lights were out in all windows. The world was dark.

This made it much harder to navigate and keep track of the Bre.270.

And then, suddenly, there was a road and two planes swooped down; a Lavochkin la-5 and a VL Myrsky…German planes.

‘’Behind us!’’ Nico snapped into the com.

The com crackled and then an unfamiliar voice, thick with a German accent, came through.

‘’Oh, yes, we are right behind you,’’ the voice giggled, ‘’and we’re about to catch up.’’

‘’They hijacked the com!’’ Nico yelled.

‘’Follow me!’’ Hazel instructed and then the com cut off completely. Alone in his mosquito, being chased by the enemy, Nico suddenly felt very alone.


	8. This is my Army, Mr Jones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW guys, this isn't really historically acurate so...

Nico blinked and wondered if he had imagined the grenade that has sailed past his window, until Thalia leaned out of the Bre.270 and tossed another grenade. She was grinning and the wind was whipping through her dark hair.

‘’SABOTAGE!’’ she screamed.

 The grenade narrowly missed Nico’s plane and fell onto someone’s balcony. The balcony exploded in a mess of rubble and concrete. The Myrsky went down. Nico saw it hit the ground and skid, hitting someone’s tree. The damage didn’t seem bad enough to stop it for long, though. Nico concentrated and turned his plane tightly, following Bianca. The Lavochkin seemed to be following Jason and Nico watched in amazement as the blonde veered in between two narrow buildings, barely missing the walls. The Lavochkin followed and soon Jason came back around, without the plane. Bianca seemed to be heading towards a large mountain-like hill in the distance. Nico was about to question her when he flew around and saw it; a big, monstrous hangar, tight and secure. You wouldn’t have found it unless you knew what you were looking for. It looked like an abandoned military station. The com cackled back to life and Bianca’s heavily accented voice came through – but she was not talking to Squadron F.

‘’This is Levesque, open the hangar!’’

There was a silence as the planes circled the hangar, waiting for access. Then a no-nonsense voice spoke. It was faint because it was connecting from the ground, but Nico understood it.

‘’I need to hear the password.’’

‘’Reyna, they’re chasing us!’’ Hazel exclaimed.

‘’The best acorns are in the…?’’

‘’North Park?’’ Hazel asked, exasperated.

‘’ _Non, non_ , that was yesterdays!’’

‘’Forest?’’ Leo asked brightly.

‘’ _Non_ ,’’

‘’Cemetery?’’ this was Travis.

‘ _’Non, non, non_ …’’

The two German planes rose behind them like a deadly sunrise.

‘ _’Ouvrir salope ou nous allons tous mourir!_ ’’ Thalia yelled.

The girl on the other side sighed and the hangar does opened with a shriek of metal. They only just managed to swoop in when the doors crashed down, locking the two German pilots out. Nico breathed a sigh of relief and landed his plane in the enormous, mostly empty space. He stumbled out of his Mosquito and joined Bianca, who was conversing quietly with a tall, pretty girl. Her hair was in a braid and she wore the army resistance uniform.

Hazel nodded and squad F, ‘’this is Reyna, the leader of the resistance.’’

Reyna nodded at the boys. Nico noticed that she was clutching a roll of paper in her hand. She snapped a few questions at Hazel in French, nodded again and walked over to the boys.

‘’You wanna play postman?’’ Leo grinned. Nico nearly smiled himself at the fact that Leo didn’t lose his posture but Reyna levelled him with a cold glare.

‘’You have probably all heard about how important this is,’’ Reyna raised the scroll. She did not have an accent, ‘’don’t mess this up. The outcome of the war and the lives of millions of people rest on you and your ability to deliver this back to England.’’

This time the boys did not shuffle. They nodded, accepting their mission. Reyna looked like she was keeping back a smile.

Hazel stepped forward, ‘’so, who will be the courier?’’

Jason glanced at Connor, who glanced at Travis. Travis gave Nico a meaningful look. Nico cleared his throat, suddenly nervous at being assigned such a responsibility, and stepped forward. It as Leo’s arm that stopped him. It was strange to see how much he had changed since the beginning; he was more muscle than bone now, his face was more angular and his eyes more serious. Without looking at Nico, he extended his hand to Reyna.

‘’You’ve done enough,’’ he said quietly, ‘’my turn.’’

Everybody inhaled in disbelief but Reyna smiled, handing him the scroll. He tucked it neatly to the tube slung across his back and straightened himself.

Hazel’s smile saddened, ‘’time to say _au revoir_ ,’’ she hugged everybody in turn, lingering on Nico, ‘’I had a brother. You remind me of him,’’ she confessed quietly before pulling away. Thalia saluted.

‘ _’_ _Vous pouvez ressembler à un tas de pommes de terre, mais vous avez les tripes. J'espère que vous rentrez chez vous._ ’’

 

‘’Thanks,’’ Leo said, ‘’whatever that means.’’

‘’That’s really brave of you,’’ Nico said quietly.

Leo grinned, ‘’don’t mention it.’’

‘’Fly like the wind,’’ Reyna said gravelly.

‘’Yeah. And may we all return home,’’ Travis said.

A roar sounded outside the bunker. The German pilots were waiting to snatch them out of the air.

‘’This is all good and nice,’’ Jason said, ‘’but how the hell will we get out?’’

Connor blinked, inspecting the hangar and all its exits, ‘’I think I have an idea.’’

888

‘’Do you see them?’’ Piper’s voice came through to Annabeth’s com.

‘’No,’’ Annabeth scanned the hangar. It looked impenetrable.

‘’When they come out, which one do we take?’’

‘’The first one you can,’’ Annabeth said quickly, ‘’there’s more of them and those were bomber planes. They could shoot us out of the sky. Better clear quickly with one of them and hope he’s the courier.’’

‘’Ok,’’ Piper scanned the horizon. Annabeth watched her plane circle the hangar a few times before she suddenly took off, ‘’there’s two!’’

Annabeth strained to see – there were, in fact, two planes shooting away through one of the back entrances. But there were five overall – Annabeth let Piper chase those two and waited. A few second later another plane roared out of the side enterance. Annabeth grinned at their sneakiness and shot after it, the miniature claw hidden in the belly of her plane ready to snatch the pilot out of the cabin.

Once they were gone, Leo and Nico swooped out of the main enterance. They laughed and angled their planes towards England. In a few more hours it would all be over. They flew low just over the tops of trees, speeding through the air.

‘’I hope the others are okay,’’ came Leo’s voice through the com. And then the com cackled again.

‘’I would worry about yourself,’’ came a girl’s voice before the Myrsky swooped down from the air. Nico watched in cold terror as a claw shot out from under the plane and, as if in slow motion, slammed through the metal of the cabin of Leo’s Gladiator and closed around him. Nico screamed and shot towards his friend, watching as his plane crashed through the trees and into the ground. For a second Nico glimpsed Leo’s body – still in one piece – limp between the claws before they retracted to the Myrsky. And then something hit his plane and he was going down, watching as the Myrsky was joined by the Lavochkin and they flew away with Leo.


	9. When they sound the last ''All Clear''

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated for ages, exams are a pain.   
> Thank you to all my reviewers!!!

‘’Let me go, you filthy German girls! You’re not even pretty! Let go!’’ Leo was struggling wildly against the girls - Annabeth and Piper, from what he understood - who each had an iron grip on one of his arms. They had dragged him, screaming, from their plane and into a moderately-sized metal room. Leo saw two doors branch out – one was dark and gloomy and Leo hoped he wouldn’t have to go down it; the other had rich red carpet and curved away, illuminated by gas lamps. The girls stopped in the middle of the ‘foyer’. Leo’s chest and limbs hurt from being squeezed so tightly by the metal claw. He felt a pang of sadness at the fact that his Gladiator had been completely pulverised and then anger directed at the girls who chatted between themselves in German.

A sudden shrill alarm sounded and the low windows were covered by thick metal shutters. Leo gulped, realising that this fortress, hidden somewhere in France, was going into lockdown; he wasn’t trained to get out of situations like this. When emergency gas lamps finally flickered on, a broad-shouldered figure was coming down from the nicer-looking doorway.

‘ _’Jawohl, Herr general_ ,’’ Annabeth saluted and Piper followed her lead. They released Leo, who fell painfully onto his knees. Leo kept his head down, groaning. His head spinned and his legs ached. A pair of polished military boots stopped in front of him.

‘’It was not easy,’’ Annabeth continued, ‘’but we have caught their leader!’’

There was a silence, before a deep, almost-pleasant voice, with a tinge of an accent, spoke up, ‘’ _leader_?’’

‘’Um,’’ Annabeth hesitated and Leo could hear her shuffle, ‘’second in command, perhaps?’’ she fumbled around and with a cold terror Leo felt her yank the message out of its holster on his back, ‘ _’das papier, Herr general_.’’

Leo clenched his fists. He was so stupid – one time in his life he decided to prove his worth and he had to fail. Of course. Just his luck. He heard the general inhale and then he spoke again – ‘’the high _fuhrer_ will he proud!’’ he announced, ‘’good job.’’ And then the general went down on one knee. Leo stubbornly stared at the ground until a finger forced his chin up to look in the general’s face. Leo was surprised; the general seemed young, maybe in his mid twenties, and he wasn’t German – he seemed to be Asian. And he was quite handsome, in a strange, mythical way. He wore a smart uniform and he was half-smiling as he inspected Leo’s face.

‘’They really have to be getting desperate to give such an important mission to such a scruffy boy,’’ he said, and Leo didn’t miss the way his thumb, which was holding his face in place, brushed against his skin in an almost caress.

Leo gritted his teeth and shoved the general’s hand away, standing up shakily, ‘’yeah, that’s right. I’m a scruffy boy – kill me and you’ll be the bad guys. Although you already are.’’

The general also rose and Leo managed to read the name on one of the medals pinned to his jacket – ‘’Zhang.’’ He towered over him and Leo fought the urge to shrink back.

Frank looked him up and down, ‘’take him away.’’

‘’WAIT!’’ Leo screeched as Piper and Annabeth hooked their hands under his armpits, ‘’wait, wait, wait! I could be useful!’’

‘’Indeed?’’ Zhang nodded at the girls, who released Leo.

Leo picked up his favourite tactic of slithering out of sticky situations – flattery. He bent down and smooched kisses all over the general’s impeccable shoes, ‘’oh, thank you! You’re so generous! And so very wise!’’ he was up on his feet in two seconds, ‘’you won’t regret this, boss. What do you want? Cards? Find the pebble? I also have a lovely voice!’’ he straightened and folded his arms behind his back like a chapel choir boy. He burst into song, ‘ _’There'll be bluebirds over…The white cliffs of Dover…_ ’’ Leo trailed off an glanced at Zhang sheepishly, ‘’sorry, maybe something else?’’

The general smiled, ‘’oh, no, I quite like music, actually. _Vor allem im bett_.’’

‘’Oh, yeah, sure, whatever you want!’’ Leo said eagerly.

‘’Take him to the cage,’’ the general grinned. Leo paled as the girls chuckled and dragged him away down the dark tunnel Leo had hoped not to venture into.

888

Leo got tossed into a large cage – an actual cage! – in the middle of a metal room. He watched Annabeth tuck the message into a chest in the corner of the room, and hurry out, followed by Piper. Leo suddenly felt someone behind him. He whirled around and came face to face with another guy – in a DAF uniform. His eyes were blood shot and his mouth was twitching.

He suddenly grabbed Leo by the shoulders, ‘’It’s bad feng-shui!’’ he screamed in his face, and then pointed an accusing finger at a megaphone hanging from the top of the cage, ‘’the bell should be there, not there!’’

‘’Hey, calm down!’’ Leo yelled at him. The guy shook his head and wandered away, and Leo slumped against the bars. He had to get out. He had to swipe the secret message and then get the hell out. His eyes bore into the chest. Unguarded. He patted himself down and produced a pin, an idea already blooming in his head.

888

Nico watched the bunker with growing hopelessness and fear. His plane circled around it but it was clearly on lock down. A huge barrel stuck out of it like a massive… um, stick. Nico continued to go around and around, but there was no way he could get in. He flew away from the bunker onto safe distance and spoke into his com.

‘’Nico here, can anyone hear me? Is everyone okay?’’ Nico felt a pang. Not _everybody_ was okay.

‘’Yeah, I’m behind you,’’ came Jason’s voice and his Goblin rose behind him.

‘’Did anybody see my brother?’’ Connor’s Firefly cropped up next to Nico’s plane.

‘’I’m here,’’ Travis’s Gloster joined them, ‘’I think I saw the Gladiator go down.’’

‘’Shit, is Leo okay? Does anybody know where Leo is?’’ Jason asked.

‘’Yeah,’’ Nico took a deep breath, ‘’in there.’’

There was a moment of silence.

‘’Inside _that_!?’’ Travis demanded.

Another silence stretched out as Nico circled the bunker again. A heavy guilt weighed down on his chest. It was his fault that Leo was dragged into this.

And then the com crackled again.

‘’Why on _earth_ are you guys chilling in front of an enemy base?’’

‘’Percy!’’ Jason yelled into the com, while everybody else yelled, ‘’Wing commander!’’

‘’You’re okay?’’ Connor asked, and Nico could hear his smile.

‘’Yep,’’ his Hawker Demon joined the formation. It was battered up and looked half burnt, but it was okay, ‘’had a few misfortunate adventures, but I’m here now. So I take it Valdez is in the fortress?’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Nico said, swallowing thickly, ‘’he got snatched out of the air…I-I couldn’t stop it…’’

‘’It’s okay kid,’’ Percy said, ‘’rendezvous in the forest to the west in five minutes. We land and break camp. We need to come up with a plan.’’

‘’Yes sir!’’ Nico yelled into his com with the other, glad to be taking orders once more.

888

In London, Will was running through a sterile white corridor. He barrelled into an office where his boss sat.

‘’Sergeant Hedge!’’ he was breathing hard as he smacked down a piece of paper onto the desk, ‘’I just deciphered the latest German code, going straight to the Fuhrer. They have the message. The enemy has the message.’’

‘’What!?’’ Hedge stood up, which wasn’t impressive since he was short, grabbed his baseball bat off the desk and smashed a window, ‘’so they failed!’’

‘’Sergeant, we need to send them help.’’ Will said breathlessly, ‘’the war isn’t over yet.’’

Hedge smacked the bat onto his desk, red in the face, trying to compose himself, ‘’send the rest of the Hawker Squad. And all of the Amazon squad. They’re only just begun training, but they could be useful back up.’’

Will nodded, already backing out of the room, ‘’yes, sir!’’


End file.
